DC Heavy Metal

This blog specializes in heavy metal music and how it relates to Washington DC and the surrounding area. Featuring info on upcoming metal concerts in Washington DC, Baltimore and Virginia, as well as info on local bands, area concert venues, reviews of live gigs, and lots of give aways.

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Municipal Waste is coming to the 9:30 Club on Sunday, December 17th! This Krampus miracle of a show has one hell of a line up as we’ll also get to see sets by Nails, Macabre and Shitfucker. In fact we’re so excited that we’re going to be giving away a free pair of tickets to the show to one of you lucky DCHM readers. To enter: just leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite metal song for the holidays is (I’m going with “Holidays Of Horror” by Macabre!). Then this Friday, December 8th at 5pm EST the contest will close and a winner will be chosen at random (using Random.org) from all valid entries. Be sure to enter using an email address you check regularly so I can contact you if you win. Don’t worry, I won’t add you to any spam lists or sell your info or anything sleazy like that. If I haven’t heard back from the winner in 24 hours another winner will be chosen at random. If you can’t wait to see if you win or the contest is already over when you read this, then you can get tickets from Ticket Fly for $20 here.

Richmond’s Municipal Waste is known for their wild live shows full of crowd surfers and stage divers, their hilarious lyrics about partying and of course those sweet thrash metal riffs! Nails is a grind band from California that really broke out with their punishing album You Will Never Be One Of Us, definitely one of the best albums of 2016. Macabre is a bizarre band from Chicago that has been a personal favorite of mine for years. They somehow blend death metal and nursery rhymes and almost all of their songs are about actual serial killers. Between songs during live performances they tell stories and often quote the various serial killers before launching into each track. Opening the show is Shitfucker, a Detroit based band that blends blackened speed metal with high energy punk. This is one epic line up you don’t want to miss! Now check out these videos from the bands performing and let me know your favorite metal song for the holidays is in the comments!

On Thursday, October 12th, The Black Dahlia Murder headlines a crazy death metal line up at Rams Head Live! We’re psyched to be giving away a free pair of tickets to the death metal tour of the year to one of you lucky DCHM readers. To enter just leave a comment on this post telling me what your all time favorite death metal band is. Then on Monday, October 9th at 5pm EST the contest will close and a winner will be chosen at random (using Random.org) from all valid entries. Be sure to use a valid email you check regularly so I can contact you if you win. Don’t worry, I won’t add you to any spam lists or sell your info or anything sleazy like that. If I haven’t heard back from the winner in 24 hours another winner will be chosen at random. If you can’t wait to see if you win or the contest is already over when you read this, then you can get tickets from AXS for $20 here.

The Black Dahlia Murder is releasing their new album, Nightbringers, this week and this will be their only area appearance on this tour to support it. Also on the bill is the legendary Suffocation! One of the pioneers of brutal death metal, Suffocation gets some of the wildest mosh pits going with just the twitch of the wrist. Tech death band Decrepit Birth released their first album in seven years this summer. They put on a killer set at Maryland Deathest this year, do not miss their return to Baltimore! Necrot is a new death metal band from Oakland featuring members of Vastum and Saviours. Opening band Wormwitch is also new. The crusty black metal band’s debut album just dropped in May. Now check out these videos of the bands below and be sure to leave a comment telling me what your favorite death metal band of all time is!

Halloween might have come and gone but you can extend the costumed fun next week when Gwar plays at the 9:30 Club on Sunday, November 9th (that's this Monday!). I’ve been commanded by my scumdog slavemasters to bring more lambs to the slaughter which means one of you (un)lucky DCHM readers will win a pair of tickets to attend this very massacre concert. To enter just leave a comment on this post letting me know what the best costume you saw this Halloween was. At 5pm EST this Friday, November 6th, a winner will be chosen at random (using Random.org) from all valid entries to win the tickets. Be sure to use a valid email you check regularly so I can contact you if you win. Don’t worry, I won’t add you to any spam lists or sell your info or anything sleazy like that. If I haven’t heard back from the winner in 24 hours another winner will be chosen at random. If you can’t wait to see if you win or the contest is already over when you read this, then you can get tickets from Ticket Fly for $25 here.

If you’ve never seen Gwar live before then get ready for a truly religious experience! Our alien masters are known for putting on the goriest live show in the universe and you’ll be covered in blood, bile and worse by the time it’s over, a truly epic baptism by mosh pit. But before Gwar even dominates the 9:30 Club stage there will be sets by other bands as well. Born Of Osiris, a Chicago based djent band, will be direct support and starting off the festivities is Battlecross, a melodic death/thrash band that is incredible live. Still not sure if you should go? Then check out these awesome music videos by the bands playing the show as you think up your entry!

Boris is a strange three piece band from Japan named after a Melvins song. They’re known for releasing albums of various genres, sometimes metal, sometimes not, but always very experimental. They’re playing at the 9:30 Club on Saturday, August 2nd, and we’re giving away a pair of tickets to this show to one of you lucky DCHM readers! To enter leave a comment on this post telling me what the best show you’ve ever seen at the 9:30 Club is! Hopefully it’s a metal show but it doesn’t have to be to count. At 5pm EST this Friday, June 27th, a winner will be chosen at random (using Random.org) from all valid entries to receive two tickets to the show! Be sure to use a valid email you check regularly so I can contact you if you win. Don’t worry, I won’t add you to any spam lists or sell your info or anything sleazy like that. If I haven’t heard back from the winner within 24 hours another winner will be chosen at random. If you can’t wait to see if you win, or the contest is already over when you read this, then you can get tickets from Ticket Fly right now for $18 here.

Boris isn’t a band that fits into any one music genre as they are constantly shifting and experimenting with their sound. They’ve worked with artists like Sunn O))) and Merzbow and are in a constant state of evolution. Their live shows are like no other since their music is like no other band’s. There’s some other great bands on this bill too though, including The Atlas Moth as direct support. They play an atmospheric style of sludge metal that is really catchy and hypnotic at the same time. The opening band is SubRosa, a doom/stoner band from Salt Lake City that has been getting a lot of buzz lately, and rightly so. The band’s moody sound is infectious. Now check out the below tunes by the bands playing and let me hear about your favorite show ever at the 9:30 Club!

This Sunday marks the return of one of the best metal bands from Greece, Septicflesh! Their US tour comes to Empire in Springfield, Virginia on Sunday, June 22nd and to help get as many people out to this show as possible we’re giving away a free pair of tickets to one of you DCHM readers! To enter leave a comment on this post telling me why you’re excited about this show. At 5pm EST this Friday, June 20th, a winner will be chosen at random (using Random.org) from all valid entries to receive two tickets to the show! Be sure to use a valid email you check regularly so I can contact you if you win. Don’t worry, I won’t add you to any spam lists or sell your info or anything sleazy like that. If I haven’t heard back from the winner within 24 hours another winner will be chosen at random. If you can’t wait to see if you win, or the contest is already over when you read this, then you can get tickets from Ticket Fly right now for $20 here.

Septicflesh plays a unique style of death metal that incorporates symphonic elements that they blend together flawlessly. Their new album Titan, is released next week and from what I’ve heard of it so far they seem to be going even farther in perfecting their sound that made their 2011 release The Great Mass so popular. Also on the bill is Italian band Fleshgod Apocalypse who are making a name for themselves by blending symphonic and classical elements with aggressive technical death metal. Fellow Italians Hour Of Penance were supposed to be on this tour but unfortunately had to drop off because of visa issues. Montreal’s Necronomicon will be smashing ear drums with a blackened death metal sound that fans of Behemoth and Lovecraft will surely enjoy. There are also several great locals worth checking out for this date including Seraph and Gloom so be sure to get there early. Give a listen to these songs below and tell me why you want to go to this awesome show!

One of 2013’s hit albums in the world of metal was Sunbather by Deafheaven. In 2012 Pallbearer‘s debut album Sorrow & Extinction was a hit as well. On Tuesday, June 10th these two bands will both be playing at the Rock & Roll Hotel! We’re so excited at DCHM that we’re giving away a free pair of tickets to this very show to one of you lucky readers. To enter leave a comment on this post mentioning one of your favorite metal albums of 2014. At 5pm EST this Friday, June 6th, a winner will be chosen at random (using Random.org) from all valid entries to receive two tickets to the show! Be sure to use a valid email you check regularly so I can contact you if you win. Don’t worry, I won’t add you to any spam lists or sell your info or anything sleazy like that. If I haven’t heard back from the winner within 24 hours another winner will be chosen at random. If you can’t wait to see if you win, or the contest is already over when you read this, then you can get tickets from Ticket Fly right now for $15 here.

San Francisco’s Deafheaven took the frostbitten grimness normally associated with black metal and turned it completely around with their album Sunbather by conjuring images of summer heatwaves, blinding sunlight and burnt skin. Their atmospheric black metal is almost hypnotic and they manage to take the listener on quite the journey in each song. Pallbearer is a doom metal band from Arkansas that has managed to find a perfect balance between ultra heavy riffs and catchy songwriting. Their clean singing vocal style adds a layer of depth to their slow, down tuned songs and since they have a new album due out soon we may be lucky enough to hear some of their new material at this show too. Also on this bill will be the opener Wreck And Reference, a California based drone/ambient band. Be sure to check out a song by each band on the bill below and let me know what your favorite albums in 2014 so far are.

As The Palaces Burn is a new documentary about Richmond metal band Lamb Of God and select cities are getting special screenings of it which, lucky for us, includes Washington DC. On Tuesday, March 4th (that’s Tuesday of next week!) the Howard Theatre will be showing the movie for DC area metal fans. This is a band documentary like no other (there’s more details on what it is about in the next paragraph) and DCHM is giving away a free pair of tickets to this screening to one of you readers of the site. To enter: just let me know what your favorite heavy metal related movie or documentary is by leaving a comment on the bottom of this post. Maybe it’s This Is Spinal Tap? Some Kind Of Monster? The Story Of Anvil? Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey? At 5pm EST this Friday, February 28th, a winner will be chosen at random (using Random.org) from all valid entries to receive two tickets to this special screening! Be sure to use a valid email you check regularly so I can contact you if you win. Don’t worry, I won’t add you to any spam lists or sell your info or anything sleazy like that, I hate spam too. If I haven’t heard back from the winner in 24 hours another winner will be chosen at random. If you can’t wait to see if you win, or the contest is already over when you read this, then you can get tickets right now for $18.30 here.

In 2012 Lamb Of God embarked on a world tour with a film crew following them along as they played in different cities around the world. As The Palaces Burn, named after the band’s 2003 album with the same name, starts as a sort of tour diary with behind the scenes interviews with band members and interactions with fans encountered on the tour. Where this documentary takes a drastic turn was when Lamb Of God arrives in the city of Prague in the Czech Republic to play a show. Their vocalist, Randy Blythe, was arrested for manslaughter upon their arrival for an incident that allegedly took place at a Lamb Of God concert in Prague years before involving the death of a fan. The documentary follows the legal and other issues they all face as the tour is halted immediately and Randy’s freedom, and the band’s very existence, are in jeopardy. The best thing about this documentary is you don’t even have to be a fan of Lamb Of God to enjoy As The Palaces Burn as it tells an intense tale that no other movie about a band does. If you’ve never been to the Howard Theatre before you’ll find that it is just off the U Street Corridor near the 9:30 Club, DC9 and Velvet Lounge. The historic building was originally built in 1910 and eventually closed only to be reopened in 2012 after $29 million in renovations. It’s a beautiful building inside and out and should be a great place to sit back with a beer and watch As The Palaces Burn. Please note that this film screening is a seated event. Now watch the trailer for As The Palaces Burn below and tell me what your favorite metal related movie or documentary is in the comment section below!